Rocket infantry (Tiberian Sun)
Nod Forgotten |baseunit = |role =Anti-vehicle infantry |useguns =Rocket launcher |usearmor = |hp =100 |shield = |energy = |timedlife = |armortype =None |trans = |cost =$250 |time = |techlvl =2 |tier =1 |produced = |req = |hotkey = |squadsize = |groundattack =25 (AP) |airattack =25 (AP) |cooldown =60 |airspeed = |landspeed =4 |seaspeed = |range =6 |sight =7 |parent = |addons = |evolvesto = |power = |produce = |allows = |research = |ability = |structure = }} Rocket infantry are heavy infantry employed by Nod and the Forgotten during the Second Tiberium War and the Firestorm Crisis. Background During the First Tiberium War, both GDI and Nod used rocket soldiers as a basic anti-armour unit. Although GDI replaced these kind of infantry with Disc Throwers, Nod continued using rocket launcher armed infantry for that purpose. They were replaced by the cheaper but less trained Militant Rocket Squad in the Third Tiberium War. Just like the Nod Light Infantry, they wore advanced Nod combat armour and the iconic Nod advanced helmet. Their missile launchers also gave them an advantage the discs their GDI counterparts didn't have, the abillity to shoot air units. Game unit Although dealing minimal damage alone, a small group of them can inflict heavy damage over time. A major issue in Tiberian Sun is that Nod simply has no direct counter to GDI's Titan Mk. I - Titans can easily outmatch Tick Tanks, Attack Cycles, and most base defenses. They can't fire back at air units, but it would take a massive and expensive air wing to take down a full attack force of a dozen or so Titans. Obelisks of Light work decently but are expensive, can be taken down with a massed group of Titans, and are an immobile defense. In contrast, along with the principles of asymmetric warfare, a massed group of Rocket Infantry can actually take down Titans like an elephant under a pack of hyenas. Titans are vehicles armed with powerful anti-vehicle weapons, which means they aren't very effective against infantry, such as Rocket Infantry - who in turn possess anti-vehicle weapons, which are effective against Titans. They aren't super-effective as a one-hit kill, but still, Titans will struggle to take on packs of Rocket Infantry. Granted, one Titan costs as much as three Rocket Infantry, but the numbers reveal the contrasts: both unit costs divide evenly into 4,000, so that five Titans would be equaled by 16 Rocket Infantry. The swarm effect comes into play, as the Titans would only be concentrating on one unit at a time, one sixteenth of the force, while all 16 RI's would be concentrating on one fifth of the attacking force. The Rocket Infantry in this case would soon overwhelm the Titans. Thus Rocket Infantry become a vital backbone to Nod forces, far more than comparatively overpriced and ineffectual Tick Tanks; Attack Cycles only have the advantage of speed, and Stealth Tanks only the advantage of surprise. The one danger when facing a group of Titans with Rocket Infantry is to make sure that they don't simply rush the Rocket Infantry and try to trample them underfoot. Assessment Pros *Effective against vehicles, aircraft and buildings. *Cheap and effective anti-armour and anti-air unit, best results when massed. *An economic and useful support unit for units lacking anti-air capabilities *Powerful in numbers. Cons *Can easily be crushed by vehicles. *Slow moving. *Ineffective against other infantry except cyborg type and Jumpjet. *Vulnerable to anti-infantry units See also *Disc thrower - GDI support infantry Category:Tiberian Sun infantry